LEGEND

Brian Helgeland

Identical twins Reggie and Ronnie Kray
were Britain's most infamous gangsters,
rising from humble roots to rule London's
nightclub scene for much of the swinging sixties,
until a fateful blend of hubris, fraternal
loyalty, mental illness, and a lust for violence
brought their dream to a catastrophic end.
Now, the immensely talented Tom Hardy
gives a bravura double performance as both
Kray brothers, in this exhilarating retelling
of one of the most fascinating tales in modern
crime.

Narrated by Reggie's wife Frances (Emily
Browning), LEGEND follows the twins as
they swiftly rise through the ranks of the
London underworld by crushing their rivals
and placing local authorities in compromising
positions. Enforcing their dominion by
means of assault, robbery, and murder, the
Krays forge alliances with American crime
lords as they seek to make London into the
Las Vegas of Europe. But success makes the
volatile Ronnie increasingly careless, and
what had been a smoothly run and fantastically
lucrative operation soon begins to spin
violently out of control.

Hardy brilliantly delineates the distinct
personalities of Reggie and Ronnie Kray,
the former smoothly ruthless, the latter
an impulsive sociopath always spoiling for
a fight. Writer-director Brian Helgeland
(winner of an Oscar for his L.A. Confidential
screenplay) chronicles the brothers' rise
and fall with ferocity, swiftness, and swagger
to spare, his camera hurtling through
maze-like East End brownstones and across
crowded nightclub floors. Directed with
verve, style, and a pleasing eye for period
detail, LEGEND captures the thrills and
pitfalls of a pair of lives lived on — and way
over — the edge.